The present invention relates to devices for hanging pipes below ceilings and beams, and, in particular, to a retaining strap for use with C-type clamps on I-beams.
A variety of pipe hanging products are utilized to suspend piping from ceilings and beams in various buildings. The piping circuits utilize clamps, hooks, straps, plates, brackets, and the like along with hanger rods and such. The hanger rods are threaded and have attached to their lower ends ring hangers, clevis hangers, J-hangers, or other types of hangers which support pipes of varying sizes.
For suspension of piping from I-beams, a C-type clamp is typically used to suspend a hanger rod which in turn is attached to a pipe support device such as described above. The upper end of the hanger rod is held by the clamp, while a set screw and nut secures the clamp to a flange of the beam. The nut is used to maintain the grip of the clamp onto the flange, so that loosening does not occur to the extent that the clamp and pipe support assembly loosen from the beam.
The effects of gravity and vibration due to earthquakes and other sources can cause the nut to loosen, however, so a retaining strap is typically used to further reduce the likelihood that the pipe support assembly will be dislodged from the beam flange. The strap may either have a hole or a slot on one end which is attached to the hanger rod or clamp set screw, while the other end is bent over the beam flange edge which is opposite the pipe support assembly in order to secure the strap on the beam. However, the use of present retaining straps with clamps on I-beams has been recognized as insufficient in some situations, and an additional nut at the strap is routinely threaded on the rod into engagement with the strap. The additional nut and the labor to install it of course undesirably adds to the cost.